The flavor of Front Street Ethiopian coffee beans is famous for its elegant floral aroma, citrus, lemon, tropical fruit aroma, and fruit tea-like taste. It is often the preferred production area for specialty coffee fans, especially Yirgacheffe and Sidamo. So this article will take you to know about Sidamo, the famous coffee producing area in Ethiopia.Characteristics of coffee cultivation in Ethiopian production areasEthiopia has an excellent climatic environment, a tropical rainforest climate, abundant rainfall and mist, and a significant temperature difference at an ultra-high altitude of about two thousand meters, providing a unique growing environment for coffee trees.The production model of local coffee is divided into four types: forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, pastoral coffee and large plantations, among which pastoral coffee is the most common. The so-called pastoral coffee refers to farmers mixing coffee trees with other economic crops in their own fields, usually planting them together with banana trees. This is why unique green landscapes are formed in front and back yards of every household. This is the main production method in Ethiopia.I believe that many attentive friends have noticed that the particles of the beans are of uneven sizes and shapes when brewing Ethiopian coffee beans. As the birthplace of Arabica coffee, the number of Ethiopian coffee varieties is so large that there is almost no way to genetically test and verify them on a larger scale. At the same time, the local government hopes to protect these unknown varieties and avoid practitioners from various countries competing to obtain them, so they decided to name these varieties after the native species "Heirloom". The original varieties of Heirloom generally have small particles, a relatively round appearance, and are not very uniform in shape. Most of them are between 14-15 mesh. They often show elegant floral and fruity flavors in cupping, and are deeply loved by people.
Administratively, coffee is grown in five major states in Ethiopia, and the four major planting systems are distributed in the following nine major production areas of Ethiopia: Jinma, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Hara, Lim, Irubaba, Kimbi (Lekanti), Tiebi, and Bebeka. Among them, Yirgacheffe coffee, Harar coffee and Sidamo coffee are the most famous and are known as the three major producing areas in Ethiopia.Front Street Sidamo coffee is also grown by small farmersSidamo is located on the fertile plateau south of Lake Awasa in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. It has abundant rainfall, a suitable climate, and an altitude of 1,500-2,200 meters. It is a perfect place for coffee cultivation. Due to the high altitude and moderate shade cultivation, the coffee cherries can mature slowly in cool temperatures and accumulate more nutrients into flavor substances.
Similar to other producing areas in Ethiopia, Sidamo coffee is grown by small farmers. The yield of coffee grown by small farmers is very small. There are large and small coffee cooperatives and processing plants in the local area, which are mainly responsible for the processing of green coffee beans in the area. Whenever coffee matures, coffee farmers send the harvested coffee fruits to a nearby processing plant (cooperative) established near the water source for unified processing, and then sell them in the name of the processing plant. Nowadays, with the development of specialty coffee, many manufacturers will purchase directly from farmers to strengthen the management and traceability of micro-batch coffee. As a result, the quality of coffee has been further improved, and more micro-batches with exquisite processing have been obtained.I don’t know if you have noticed that whenever we look up the story of this coffee origin, two different Chinese translations often appear. One is XidaMount(Sidamo), and another one is Sidamohorse(Sidama)。Sidama is pronounced from the Sidama, an indigenous people. Like other ethnic groups in Ethiopia, the Sidama have their own traditions and culture, and even have their own New Year recognized by UNESCO - Fiche Chambalala. Every year, more than 5 million people gather in the capital Hawassa to celebrate. As early as the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the area was invaded and annexed. The invaders called Sidama Sidamo, so this name was humiliating to the Sidama people. In the 1990s, the Ethiopian government began to adopt a federal system of management and re-planned according to the main ethnic residential areas and languages. Sidama also took advantage of the situation and changed its name to its original name in history: Sidama.However, before the administrative division was redrawn, Sidamo Coffee was already famous for its unique aroma, so people are more accustomed to calling it Sidamo than Sidamo. In addition, when the Ethiopian government protected coffee from Sidamo through trademark registration, it also chose the old name of Sidamo® as the official registered trademark. Until now, domestic consumers are more accustomed to calling the coffee here "Sidamo".What are the flavor characteristics of Front Street Sidamo Sundried Coffee?When we buy a coffee, in addition to its place of origin, we also pay attention to its post-processing method, because the flavor and tonality of coffee is largely affected by the processing method. Sun-drying is the oldest traditional processing method in Ethiopia, and most areas in Sidamo still use this natural drying method to process green beans. The classic Sidamo flavor is made from sun-dried coffee, which is famous for its richness and richness. Front Street Sun-dried Sidamo has a complex sweetness, a viscous and smooth taste, rich layers of spices, flowers and fruity aromas, and a bright aftertaste.Compared with washing, the fermentation time of solar processing is longer, and the reaction between bacteria and pulp is higher. When the fruit begins to ferment, the microorganisms produce more volatile compounds, especially esters. While most sugars are destroyed during roasting, these compounds are converted into another form of aromatic compounds during the caramelization reaction. It is also these aromatic substances that provide cooked coffee beans with more floral aromas and fermented aromas of tropical fruits, such as furan compounds, which make sun-dried coffee have a wider flavor range and taste sweeter. One of the Front Street Sidamo Oiran coffee beans on the Front Street bean menu is also selected from the sun-dried batch and comes from Hambella. The saturated sweetness has attracted many customers to grab their hands.Gujihambela Front Street Sidamo OiranHambera is located at the junction of the Sidamo and Guji production areas. It is currently under the management of the Guji production area. It is adjacent to Kochier in Yirgacheffe across the mountain. The middle mountain has an altitude of 3,200 meters. It is the highest altitude sub-production area in Ethiopia. Oiran coffee was launched in 2017 when DW Company entered it into the TOH (Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest competition) competition that year and won the championship. The oiran is called Hambella in English, which is the name of the place where Hambella comes from. Front Street Oiran coffee is sun-dried coffee beans from the Buku Abel processing plant in Gugi. Buku Abel purchases coffee cherries from different areas near the farm for processing and sale.
During the annual coffee harvest season (December to January), the Buku processing plant organizes farmers to pick fully red coffee cherries with a sugar content of over 30, and then places the screened coffee cherries on African scaffoldings to dry. Due to the large temperature difference between day and night in the area, coffee farmers will block the sun at noon to prevent excessive fermentation due to high temperatures, and wrap them with plastic sheets at night to prevent sudden showers. Continuous turning throughout the day allows the fruit to dry evenly while preventing the fruit from getting sunburned or producing an unpleasant fermented smell. After about 18 days of sun-drying treatment, the green coffee beans have a moisture content of only 12% and can be removed by machine.Front Street hopes to bring out the full fruity flavor of Front Street Oiran Coffee, so it uses medium-light roasting. Through cupping, the dry aroma of Front Street Sundried Sidamo Oiran Coffee has the aroma of nuts, honey, berries and a touch of fermentation. The entrance is full of sweet and sour taste of passion fruit, cream and strawberry, with a thick body and a cocoa aftertaste.How to brew Front Street Sidamo Oiran 8.0 coffee?Now that the high-quality coffee beans are ready, the next step is to choose the corresponding brewing equipment and parameters. Good equipment will help improve the positive flavor of the coffee in our cup, and reasonable parameters and techniques can make the berry aroma of Front Street Courtesan even better. To brew a cup of coffee by hand, at least the following equipment is required: a hand brewing pot, a filter cup, a sharing pot, a grinder, filter paper, an electronic scale, and a thermometer.
The grinder plays a very important role in hand brewing and is usually divided into two categories: hand grinder and electric grinder. No matter which grinding equipment you choose, the goal is to obtain uniformly ground coffee powder. The thickness of the coffee powder will directly affect the taste of the coffee. If the coffee powder is too thick, it will be easily under-extracted and the taste will be bland. If the coffee powder is too fine, it will be easily over-extracted and the taste will be bitter.Front Street uses a tool to adjust the grinding degree - China's No. 20 0.85mm standard sieve. For medium-light roasted coffee beans, Front Street always uses a 75-80% sieving rate, while for medium-dark roasted coffee beans, Front Street uses 70-75%. The Oiran 8.0 coffee beans here are medium-light roasted high-altitude coffee beans. Front Street hopes to extract more rich aromatic substances, so he chose the No. 20 standard sieve with a pass rate of 80%. The store uses an EK43s grinder with a scale of 10 grids.
The thermometer is used to measure the temperature of hot water. Water temperature and grinding degree play a similar role. The higher the water temperature, the higher the coffee extraction efficiency, the easier it is to release various substances and the higher the concentration. If you use hot water close to boiling for brewing, it is easy to extract unpleasant bitter substances. Therefore, when brewing medium-dark roasted coffee beans, Front Street will use different brewing parameters from light-roasted coffee beans. The caramelization reaction will be more than that of light roasted coffee beans, so it is easier to release the bitter macromolecules. In order to avoid extracting too many impurities, Front Street will lower the water temperature a little, so Front Street recommends using 87-90°C for medium-dark roasted coffee beans, while light-roasted coffee requires a higher water temperature to stimulate the aroma, so 91-93°C is used.
The Front Street Coffee Store will choose two filter cups, Hario V60 and KONO, for daily production. The V60 filter cup is mainly responsible for producing lighter roasted coffee beans, while the KONO filter cup is responsible for producing darker roasted coffee beans. The baristas on the front street here use resin V60 filter cups to extract Yirgacheffe coffee. The body of the V60 filter cup has guide ribs connecting the top and bottom and a large round hole in the center, which speeds up the flow rate of water falling. The spiral-shaped exhaust groove design lengthens the water flow path and increases the contact time between coffee powder and hot water. Each water flow converges along the groove to the center of the filter cup. The pressure on the coffee powder is concentrated, and the extracted coffee has a richer layered texture.
As for the brewing ratio of Front Street Oiran 8.0, Front Street believes that 1:15 to 1:16 is acceptable. If you want a richer taste, use 1:15. If you want to feel the floral sweetness more clearly, you can use 1:16 to make the flavor more spread out.Sharing parameters of Front Street Oiran 8.0 hand punch:Filter cup: V60 Water temperature: 92-93℃Powder amount: 15g Powder to water ratio: 1:15 Grinding degree: the size of fine sugar (sieve powder to 78% in a No. 20 sieve bowl)Based on past brewing experience, Front Street recommends that new players who are just getting started use the three-stage water filling method. The three-stage extraction is conducive to more fully dissolving flavor substances during extraction, increasing the taste level, and at the same time avoiding over-extraction of coffee caused by soaking for too long. If there are 15 grams of coffee powder, a powder-to-water ratio of 1:15, and a total water volume of 225 ml, the three water levels are divided into: 30 ml, 95 ml, and 100 ml. The weight on the electronic scale will show: 30 g, 125 g, and 225 g.
Fold the filter paper and overlap it with the filter cup. Use a small amount of water to wet the filter paper and make them fit better. Pour out the water in the pot. Then pour in the coffee powder and tap gently to distribute the powder layer evenly. In the first stage, 30 grams of water is gently injected for steaming, and the steaming time is 30 seconds. In the second stage, about 125 grams of water is injected, and the water is evenly and smoothly circled outward. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop, and when it drops to half, inject the last section of water to 225 grams. Wait for all the coffee to filter and drip. Generally, the total extraction time is about 2 minutes.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
